One of the wonderful things about animals is that they can sense when you're upset, and dogs definitely want to comfort you. Even Jack. It usually takes a while for him to come out of his crate when I get to the house, but he picked up on my distress the moment I walked in and came over to nuzzle me right away. It helped. As did the other dogs I worked with today.

But now I'm home without anything else to focus on besides Seth's lie. And as much I try not to, I get worked up. Sammy texted that she was going to campus to process her research and that she'd grab dinner there. Since Seth and I didn't make definite plans for tonight, I'm not sure what to do about confronting him. Confront. I let out a sigh because I'm thinking the worst. It's not as if he cheated on me. I need to change my thinking. This man is my soul mate, and he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I can't take not knowing any longer, so I grab my phone and my keys to drive over and see him. Rational thought hits me about the time I get to his apartment, and I realize I can't just burst in, so once I stop the car, I text him. Can I come over?

My phone immediately rings, and I answer Seth's call. "Hey."

"Hi. I heard you stopped by the school today. Please let me explain."

Hearing his voice makes my heart flip at first, but it's quickly followed by a deep ache, because what if the reason Seth lied means we're over?

"Nina? Are you still there?"

"I don't know what to feel about you lying."

"You should be mad at me. But come over," says Seth, "and I'll explain everything."

"I'm already here."

Seth opens the door before I get to it. He gives me a nervous smile. "Should I be worried about hexes or spells?"

I don't feel anger. But the urge to cry makes my throat thicken as sadness fills me instead because I'm afraid he's about to break my heart. "I guess that depends on what you have to say."

"Come in." Seth steps back so I can walk through the door. As he leads the way to the living room, he asks, "Do you want a glass of wine or anything?"

Niceties are the last thing I'm in the mood for, and my anger comes back. "Just spit it out, Seth. Why did you tell me you were a warrior instead of a kindergarten teacher?"

He lets out a big sigh and sits in a chair, so I lower myself to the couch across from it, and he looks at me with a mix of pain and perhaps shame in his eyes. "I do work with the warriors, tactical training, but I'm not one. I let you think so because I was afraid you wouldn't be impressed that I'm the furthest thing from it as you can get."

"What?" I frown. "What you do is admirable."

"Don't get me wrong. I love my job, and I know it's what I'm meant to do, but it makes me look dorky. A warrior? Well. The whole clan looks up to them. Nobody looks up to kindergarten teachers."

"Dorky?"

"You were so impressed when you thought I was a warrior, and if I told you I wasn't then—"

Sharp reality slices through me. "Oh. You mean you didn't want me to think you're someone like me." The sadness I felt before has completely moved out of the way for my anger, which is dangerous because my magic begins to tingle inside me now too. I think about how Seth keeps telling me that he loves who I am. But apparently not. "So let me get this straight. All this time, you've been saying you like me the way I am and you think my awkward ways are honest and cute."

"Because it's true."

"Really? If being a dork is so great, then why isn't it good enough for you?"

"It's not like that." Seth moves forward on his chair to lean toward me. "When you mistook me for a warrior, I went with it even though I knew I shouldn't. I figured once you realized we were soul mates, you wouldn't care that I'm not that cool. And then you talked to that bird." He shakes his head. "I mean, wow, Nina. Suddenly, I was the odd man out."

"What the heck are you talking about?" My magic ramps up to a sizzle as what he said becomes clear. "You are seriously messed up. It's okay if we're both weirdos, but then when you think I might not be?" I'm getting worked up beyond return, and my fingers itch with the urge to throw a fireball. "First off, I'm still very much the awkward person who has a bump on her forehead the size of Saturn. And—"

"Jupiter."

"What?" My powers are about to unleash at his interruption, and I desperately try to think of something harmless instead of intending pain and destruction with fire. I glance at the art supplies he has on his table.

"I think you meant to say Jupiter because it's the largest planet."

"How does—" I don't finish my question because the tiny thread holding my magic back snaps. The power that explodes from me hits Seth straight on with a burst of purple glitter. And it's not a simple fireball. To my horror, it's much more, because the flow is not stopping, and I bury Seth in a pile of sparkle. It's so powerful that my hand is snaking like an uncontrollable fire hose, and glitter splatters on the walls and ceiling too as I try to force the stream away from Seth. Damn it! The rushing noise is loud, and I finally think to yell out a halting spell. It works, and the stream of sparkly bits finally peters out and stops.

Seth’s arms flail as he tries to get out from under the mountain I buried him in, and I cough as purple bits float in the air like mist. I let out a groan of embarrassment. But while the room looks as if a unicorn vomited everywhere and Seth is chest deep in glitter, I'm not mortified enough to feel that bad.

Seth manages to climb out from the sparkly pile, and he chuckles. "You're just full of secret weapons."

I know he's trying to joke, and how he can, considering I just unleashed a hundred or so pounds of glitter in his apartment, is beyond me. Wait. Secret weapon? Oh my god. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You accept everything I do and are trying so hard to win me over because I'm your secret weapon."

It all becomes crystal clear in my head. He talked about how the clan looks up to warriors and not only are my powers something that will be revered, but the children Seth and I would have would be too. I bet he sees me as his pass to being admired by the entire clan. "I'm your ticket to some kind of fame and prestige you want to have." I let out a noise of disgust. "You're going to have to find another witch, because you can count me out."

I turn on my heel and wipe out, sending pain through my knee when it hits the ground. I quickly get to my feet to walk away.

"Nina!"

Seth moves toward me, and I turn to look when the floor shakes with a thud. My heart clenches as I see him scramble up from his fall.

"Please. This isn't what it looks like at all."

I glance around the shimmering purple room and think about how falling in love with him was like floating on a cloud, feeling happier than I ever imagined I could be. But the reality is that what I believed Seth and I had is nothing more than the fantasy of unicorns that spew glitter. "You're right," I say. "We aren't what I thought at all."